Adani Group, controlled by Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani, plans to raise $2.5 billion from global lenders to refinance debt used to buy two cement companies, according to people familiar with the matter, in India’s biggest offshore loan this year.
Endeavor Trade and Investment Ltd., a Mauritius-based special purpose vehicle owned by the Adani family, aims to raise $1.5 billion through a bridge loan with a term of 18 to 24 months, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information.
The offshore line could be priced at about 150 basis points over the benchmark U.S. overnight financing rate, or SOFR, the people said. This bridge facility will later be refinanced with a rupee loan from domestic lenders including State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, the sources said.
Separately, Adani Infra (India) Ltd., another family-owned entity of the group, is seeking to raise about $1 billion through a five-year loan facility using the Reserve Bank of India’s external commercial borrowing window, the people said. The facility could cost approximately 275 basis points over SOFR, they said.
The Indian central bank’s concessional currency swap, designed to support the weak rupee, reduces the cost of hedging foreign borrowings. If completed, the entire debt deal would be India’s largest offshore loan this year, surpassing Adaniconnex Pvt Ltd’s borrowing, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. at $1.13 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The group is in active discussions with several banks on both lines of financing, including DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., the sources said. and Standard Chartered Plc. Banks are expected to sign off on the deal in the next two to three weeks, with the loan likely to close before the end of October, the sources said.
Representatives for the Adani Group, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and SMBC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Standard Chartered, DBS and MUFG declined to comment.
The conglomerate’s plans to raise funds from ports to mining come after Gautam Adani last month got securities fraud charges against him dropped in the US, paving the way for its expansion in India and abroad. In one of the biggest deals since he settled US litigation, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd. said earlier on Wednesday that it would raise ₹9,825 crore (~US$1 billion). ₹9,825 crore (~$1 billion) through stake sale to a consortium comprising Temasek Holdings Pte. and funds managed by BlackRock Inc.
In May, Adani Enterprises Ltd. reached a $275 million settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control over apparent Iran-related liquefied petroleum gas sanctions violations. The US Department of Justice also dropped criminal charges against Adani and his nephew related to solar energy contracts in India.
The group is splitting its $2.5 billion refinancing facility in two to tap into different pools of liquidity in offshore and domestic markets and lower borrowing costs amid rapidly changing credit markets, the people said.
This is the second loan the Adani Group has taken to refinance debt used to buy two Indian cement makers, Ambuja Cements Ltd. and ACC Ltd., after receiving a $3.5 billion funding package in 2023. Adani Group plans to raise another $1 billion in its third round of refinancing in 2027, sources said.